Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. Sells 6,344 Shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. $AGO

Key Points

• Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Assured Guaranty Ltd. by 0.6%, now holding approximately 2.11% of the company, valued at $92.8 million.
• Several large investors modified their holdings in Assured Guaranty, with Allworth Financial LP increasing its stake by 27.6% in the first quarter.
• Assured Guaranty reported earnings of $1.01 per share for the last quarter, missing estimates by ($0.56), but revenue increased by 39.1% year-over-year.

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 0.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,053,347 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,344 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 2.11% of Assured Guaranty worth $92,800,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty in the first quarter valued at $293,632,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Assured Guaranty by 8,932.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 240,161 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $211,580,000 after purchasing an additional 237,502 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 89.0% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 488,895 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,005,000 after acquiring an additional 230,258 shares during the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. increased its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 12.8% in the first quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,134,810 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $99,977,000 after acquiring an additional 129,026 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 12.1% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,012,552 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $89,206,000 after acquiring an additional 109,282 shares during the last quarter. 92.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Assured Guaranty from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Assured Guaranty to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Assured Guaranty from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Assured Guaranty currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.50.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

Shares of Assured Guaranty stock traded up $1.5330 during trading on Friday, hitting $82.4230. 232,070 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 346,804. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 1-year low of $74.09 and a 1-year high of $96.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.11 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $84.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.56). The firm had revenue of $281.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $203.91 million. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 7.18% and a net margin of 44.53%.The business's revenue was up 39.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.03%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Robert Bailenson sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.51, for a total transaction of $3,260,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 291,728 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,778,749.28. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 5.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Assured Guaranty Company Profile

Assured Guaranty Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides credit protection products to public finance, infrastructure, and structured finance markets in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments: Insurance and Asset Management. The company offers financial guaranty insurance that protects holders of debt instruments and other monetary obligations from defaults in scheduled payments.